pinning presently: bathroom inspiration

I haven't used Pinterest nearly as much lately as in its early years, but between the big kid room planning and some bathroom remodel projects coming up, the app has suddenly been getting a lot of airtime again lately! I thought it would be fun to share an inspiration board of some images I've saved for our smaller bathroom update:

top: left middle right | middle | bottom: left right

This came together uncharacteristically quickly for me, which is handy so that we can get started very soon! This is kind of the "kid" bathroom, and it's just getting more of a refresh with tile and vanity, no rearranging or reconfiguring or anything like that.

Didn't have to even think about subway tile for the shower because I love it so much that it wasn't even a question - plus it's pretty inexpensive. And then once I landed on these great hexagonal tiles for the floor (in a fabulous matte gray), the inspiration photos led me to the rest: wood vanity, white/gray marble top... clearly I know what I like because that's basically my kitchen. But these did lead me to black fixtures/cabinet pulls/mirror, which is a little out there for us, but I think we're going to give it a go, for a bit of pizazz. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

making lately: chocolate banana power muffins

I have loved my years-long series of trying to make/do/wear something inspired by one of my many saved images on a Pinterest board, but since I use Pinterest a bit less these days, I think I'm going to expand it into a general "making" series, wherever that inspiration might come from. This week? The need for an exciting after school snack (doing what we could to make the nervous part of Hendrik join the excited part of him leading in to the first day of school), combined with a recipe on the side of the Kodiak Cakes mix in our pantry.

So here we have the perfect snack for a tired kid who has been using his brain all day - something chocolatey to get a smile on his face, but totally still healthy and with some good protein thanks to the Kodiak Cakes mix to rejuvenate his energies. The recipe is basically banana muffins, subbing the mix for the flour/baking soda portion - and of course doing it with the dark chocolate mix makes it all the more yummy. I'm going to have to make another batch because I keep eating them while he's at school...

Chocolate banana power muffins

Ingredients

2 cups Kodiak Cakes mix (dark chocolate flavor)
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c oil (I used avocado oil)
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and blend until smooth. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full (should make 12 muffins). Bake at 350 for 14-18 minutes (mine took closer to 18 because the amount of batter made the cups a little more than 3/4 full), until an inserted toothpick comes out just slightly moist. Cool, then enjoy!

I think these will keep pretty well in a sealed container for a few days, but I usually just go ahead and stick 1/2 my batches of muffins in the freezer after they're cooled, to keep them fresh. Then I can pull out one at a time and zap it in the microwave for a minute on defrost, and it's perfect on demand.

pin to present: back-to-school update

The reality of summer coming to an end is coming up: Hendrik's first day of first grade (!) is coming up next week, and we're busy getting ready for it with a meet-the-teacher night, school supply shopping, and of course updating his annual "first day" questionnaire that I developed based on some Pinspirations before he started preschool:

Bittersweet to send my baby off to first grade (especially because we originally thought he'd be going to kindergarten this fall - but then in the spring he started fully reading chapter books on his own, plus doing well beyond kindergarten math workbooks, and we realized he needed to move up or be bored silly), but we're still all very excited about his new school and the Montessori program there.

If you think it would be fun to see your kid(s)' answers change throughout the years, it's not to late to start up this tradition any time, I say! Last year I rounded up several options for free printables if you don't want to develop your own. Loved looking at the comparison to starting preschool 2 years ago especially, at the point where he could write only an H and and E. Food loves have remained the same, but we've moved from playing with Duplos to Legos, from reading picture books to chapter books, and grown 6 inches (!) in the intervening period.

2017 | 2018

pin to present: zucchini season

'Tis the season of giant zucchinis at the farmers market - and when there are just SO many ways to use them (just type zucchini into Pinterest and you'll see!), the bigger the better. I always make sure to make at least one new zucchini recipe per year (this year was the zucchini bread breakfast cookies), but I have lots that are worth revisiting too:

Zucchini "chips" - a great way to introduce this veggie to a reluctant eater (you can also cut them in "fry" form and do the same thing). Now my kid is old enough that he just has to eat his veggies in whatever form I present them, but I might have to remake these for fun, because they were yummy.

Zucchini chocolate chip cookies - these actually are Hendrik's favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe (and you know he's tried quite a variety, because that's another area where Pinterest has gotten me to test out a whole bunch). If you like the oatmeal chocolate chip variety, especially with a dash of cinnamon, then these are definitely worth a try. Or if you like your dessert with a side of veggies, ha!

Grilled zucchini/summer veggies with balsamic - this is one of the first "pin to present" posts I did way back when, and I still love the flavors of this grilled zucchini/veggie mix with the balsamic/basil dressing. Great with quinoa.

Lemon zucchini bread - we love the cinnamon/nutmeg flavoring of the standard zucchini bread, but for a hot summer day, this one is so light and fresh thanks to the lemon. You'd hardly know you snuck zucchini in, except for how moist it is, and I guess maybe a few green flecks...

What's your favorite zucchini recipe? I might have to add these zucchini herb fritters and this chocolate zucchini bread to my "tried it" column this summer as well - don't they look good?

pin to present: fancy pants cauliflower

Sometimes I go to the farmers market and buy a whole bunch of produce because it looks so good, and then come home and realize that duh, now I have to figure out what to do with all of it. Enter my Pinterest board... this time with my fresh head of cauliflower I decided to try out the fancy pants version of it: steaks! In particular, cauliflower steaks with romesco sauce.

I opted to roast mine in the oven (30ish minutes at 425) rather than grill, but that would make it an even better option for a hot summer day. Otherwise, this is summer evening perfection, with the fresh produce (adding in parsley from the farmers market and a tomato from Peter's garden), and the light and bright flavors of the romesco. Cauliflower makes for an excellent vehicle for sauces and toppings (just see all the recipes out there for cauliflower pizzas and so on), and I highly recommend this romesco sauce as one. It's surprisingly easy to make too - helped that I happened to have a jar of roasted red peppers in my pantry.

I like how cutting the cauliflower into these "steaks" keeps them nice and together for cooking, but you do end up with a lot of florets on the side. I roasted them all together, which actually ends up working out great - because there was plenty of sauce left over as well, so that makes for a happy lunch for me the next day!

My other favorite light & bright flavoring for cauliflower - also thanks to Pinterest - is to roast with lemon and garlic. How about you?

pin to present: zucchini bread breakfast cookies

Every summer when the time arrives that giant zucchinis are showing up at the farmer's market or in my inlaws' garden, I make sure to try out a new zucchini recipe from my Pinterest board - because for some reason, I'm pretty sure zucchini-related recipes are second only to chocolate chip cookie-related recipes in frequency of pinning for me.

Perhaps that's because there's just so darn much you can do with zucchini! Use it as noodles, bake with it for breakfast or dessert, sneak it into meatballs or turkey burgers as a bonus dinner veggie, even use it as a vehicle for panko and turn it into chips.

This time I went for the zucchini bread quinoa breakfast cookie recipe that I saved a while ago. Hendrik loves zucchini bread already, and then when you tell a 5-year-old that he can eat a cookie for breakfast? Sold. The name pretty much says it all - it tastes like zucchini bread and has consistency close to it (or kind of a very moist cakey muffin texture) but comes in the form of a cookie. A cookie that's totally suitable for breakfast thanks to the breakfast-y ingredients like oats/quinoa flakes, peanut butter, banana - and no added sugar. Best when warm, so you can just zap them for a few seconds in the microwave, but be warned that they're slightly sticky.

You can see that Hendrik liked them enough to sneak one out from the pile while I was photographing them and start munching...

pin to present: painted driftwood

Trying to think of a little craft project that we could do with some aunts and cousins and grandmas at our extended family cottage last week, I scrolled through my Pinterest board and happened upon a photo of some painted driftwood that I saved ages ago... and how perfect is that for a crafternoon at a lakefront cottage.

So Hendrik and I went for a walk along the beach with a bucket and collected a bunch of driftwood pieces, and then we pulled out our supply of acrylic paints and paintbrushes, and everyone got busy.

Such an easy little project with endless possibilities - and it works for the 5-year-old and 75-year-old among you, and everyone in between! Hendrik was very pleased with the long stick that he found himself on our beach walk.

pin to present: wedding hair

When my brother got married last month, my sister and I got invited to get our hair done along with the bridal party and moms, and I'm so glad we went along for it. For one thing, it was fun to get to be part of the whole getting ready business with the girls (since I had no other formal role in the wedding - besides being mother of the flower boy, of course!), and for another, who doesn't want an excuse to get her hair fancied up.

I originally thought I was going to get it curled, but when a last minute outfit change to this simple sheath dress occurred (long story), I thought it would be nice to do something that felt fancier than what I would ever be able to achieve on my own. So some quick Pinterest searching on the ride there, and had a couple of simple curled hair updos to show to the stylist - and voila, look what she whipped up in just a few minutes based on the Pinspiration I showed her! First she curled everything, and then just pinned it up. Perfect for feeling fancy and then dancing the night away.

I loved it almost as much as I loved my little flower boy in his suit. I mean, can you even?! But even better was that even after I pulled out all the bobby pins and slept on it that night, I still woke up with nicely curled hair in the morning. Two 'dos for the price of one!

pin to present: instant pot ideas

I've been hearing friends and neighbors sing the praises of the Instant Pot for ages, and of course have seen a zillion great-looking recipes pop up on blogs and on Pinterest - and now I finally get to find out about the for myself thanks to a lovely birthday gift from my in-laws. So far I have just tested it out on some basic shredded chicken (which worked great!), but I have bookmarked a bunch of enticing things to try:

rice bowl with instant pot black beans | instant pot chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake | instant pot beef schwarma |

instant pot Greek chicken and rice | instant pot breakfast casserole | instant pot Asian chicken lettuce wraps

What sold me on the idea of an Instant Pot in the first place was how quickly it can get dinner on your table - even from frozen meat (which is kind of the bane of my existence...). Very helpful when suddenly it's approaching 5pm and you realize you haven't thought about a meal plan yet. I mean, rice ready in 4 minutes?! Chicken in 10?! Very handy. (I didn't realize, though, about the time for the pot to build up pressure - so even if your recipe says to cook for 12 minutes, it could take 30 minutes by the time it warms up... still way faster/easier than other cooking methods, but something to note.)

But now seeing the full range of things the Instant Pot can do - how about that cookie dough cheesecake! - I'm super sold. I think it'll be especially great when the busyness of the school year sets in.

If you're in the market for an Instant Pot, I noticed there's a $10 off coupon on Amazon, so it's a great time to buy for an excellent - but they also have had really good deals on them on Prime Day the last couple of years which means next Monday/Tuesday would also be great times to snag a deal on it if you're a Prime member!

pin to present: it's my party!

Today I'm honoring my own birthday with a repeat of a super fun double Pinterest-inspired post - chocolate chip cake (soooo rich and good) plus party animal cake toppers - because it's my party, and I can re-cake if I want to!

Though my day won't feature this particular cake, my dad always makes me something excellent, so there's that to look forward to, along with a little family dinner gathering. And because of work schedules (travel starting tomorrow for me, and being on call for Peter) there's no birthday dinner date yet for us... luckily I'm finding us a great place to try on our upcoming trip, and I'm willing to take delayed gratification on that particular birthday celebration in return for getting to do it in Copenhagen.

Now I'm off for some birthday alone time - also a key component in my celebrations, ha!

pin to present: school's out for summer ideas

Hendrik's school year finished up two weeks ago already, but now he's officially done, after wrapping up the nature camp that his teachers organize for the couple of weeks following the end of the school year. And suddenly I have a kid who is home a whole lot more during the day... I'm sure all the other parents out there get that feeling of mild panic, so I have checked my archives for some good/cheap/easy Pinterest-inspired ideas to keep them occupied during summer break!

For some good outdoor time (and a way to use up last year's leftover bits and pieces of chalk), this sidewalk chalk painting is fun and easy.

Baking together is always a nice way to spend time together (or just kill some time, when you're going nuts). We love any kind of baked treat or muffin - and especially zucchini bread in the summer - but these cereal bars are a good option for being relatively healthy and having easy ingredients, plus they're no-bake, so they're doable even on the hottest of summer days.

We like to do a lot of craft time in the summer too, which gets bonus points when it uses paints and markers we already have on hand + any other items just laying around the house, like paper plates to make these adorable llamas.

And summer isn't necessarily all fun and games - stuff's got to get done sometimes, and kids (like mine, anyway) need at least a bit of structure, so a job chart can come in quite handy. I'm thinking of adapting this one into a summer version with a few extra chores, since we have more time at home than during the school year - and with it the opportunity to earn a little extra spending money to take to the bookstore this summer.

What are your summer vacation kid occupation go-tos?

pin to present: sprinkle cookies

Whenever there's a request at church for cookie donation for whatever - a reception, a youth group event, etc. - I always sign up. Partly because I'm pretty sure cookie baking is one of my strongest spiritual gifts, but also because, I admit, I love an excuse to try out something new from my Pinterest board.

This time around, since there was an additional request to have some vegan options, I got to try out these soft batch vegan sugar cookies. I liked the looks of this recipe because it has all "normal" ingredients (I don't go for ones that have stuff like flax seed that I don't keep on hand), and because these just look so fun with the mixed-in sprinkles. They're not super sweet, but I still enjoy the taste and the soft and chewy texture.

They're pretty quick to whip up (I didn't even follow the "chill for one hour" directions...) if you're looking for something festive or suited to a dietary restriction!

pin to present: quinoa salad

'Tis the season for a "dish to pass" - what with summer holiday cookouts and neighborhood picnics and such. This broccoli salad is a go-to of mine, but for Hendrik's end-of-year school picnic this week, I wanted to try a little something different - and came up with this quinoa salad with feta from Pinterest.

And the verdict is that this will be another go-to! It's perfectly light and fresh, with the lemon/apple cider vinegar dressing, and the fresh herbs add some lovely depth of flavor. Super handy for a cookout or picnic because it is served room temperature or chilled, so you can prepare it in advance very easily, and it showcases some great summer tomatoes and herbs. Would be great at home as well, to make a full meal with some grilled chicken.

Got any other go-to summer salad recipes for me?

pin to present: slow cooker chicken tacos

If you've got any summer parties to host soon (Memorial Day is coming right up!) - or are just looking for a good dinner recipe - Pinterest and I have just the thing for you: slow cooker chicken tacos, coming right up. Fresh, easy to feed a crowd, and no need to even turn on the oven.

I found this recipe on Pinterest ages ago and have had it on somewhat regular rotation because it's so easy and delicious, but somehow have never shared here yet. It was the perfect go-to for the recent baby fiesta I co-hosted though, since besides the easy/delicious parts, it also is easy to make a ton to feed a crowd, and works really well to make in advance (you can even freeze and reheat the meat in the crockpot on the day of the event, which worked great for mine).

The meat turns out really juicy and flavorful, but of course your favorite taco toppings are welcome - guacamole and tomatoes for me, please. All on top of these adorable street taco sized tortillas that I found at Target - mini size so perfect for a baby shower!

pin to present: giant tissue paper flowers

Last week's tissue paper flower garland was fun and festive and all, but this week's is even better. If you're looking for something really fun and festive for a party, these giant tissue paper flowers seriously pack a punch.

While they're equally as inexpensive to make as the garland (tissue paper can be had for real cheap at Target or even a dollar store) they are a way better bang for your buck both in terms of time commitment (seriously about 3 minutes apiece) and especially in terms of impact.

They're so huge and fun! Perfect for the baby fiesta that I co-hosted last weekend - almost as excited about how these + the rest of the decor came together as I am for the sweet baby girl making her way into the world soon... This type of tissue flower is all over Pinterest but you can see the super easy to follow one I did here - and then give these a try for your next festive event for sure.

pin to present: tissue paper flower garland

I feel like it's been a little while since I've gotten good and crafty - so it's fun to have a baby shower this weekend as an excuse to track down some DIY decorations on Pinterest. I thought this tissue paper flower garland was just the right amount of festive for a baby fiesta (it is Cinco de Mayo this weekend, after all).

It's quick and easy, and I feel like this is a pretty forgiving project - the little flower burst shape of these means they don't have to look perfect, so if you have any imperfections in the cutting or the assembling of the tissue paper flowers, it's not very noticeable, and it makes for some instant festivity.

Check out the tutorial here if you want to try it too!